Global Diagnosis: A New Vision of Dental Diagnosis and Treatment Planning

William Robbins, DDS, MA,
and Jeffrey S. Rouse, DDS

232 pages, 563 photos, tables
and illustrations,  $148.00

Quintessence Books, 2016

Dr. Welden Bell, the quintessential orofacial pain and TMD diagnostician, once presciently declared that dentists, by training and patient expectations, were therapists, not diagnosticians. Unfortunately, for dentists and their patients, that dental defect has existed far too long. For that reason, this new Quintessence publication by Robbins and Rouse offers a welcomed beginning for the antidote to that embarrassing defect in the dental curriculum.

This sensible and complete diagnostic regimen did not spring full-grown from a single inspired insight; rather it has evolved from years of experience, close observations, and professional collaborations these remarkable clinicians have had. As befits such a comprehensive subject, the authors have marshaled the expertise of 19 other clinicians and technicians with their skills, practice, and knowledge to answer the five CORE questions of the Global Diagnosis:

• What are the facial proportions and skeletal relationships?
• What is the length and mobility of the upper lip?
• What is the relationship between the gingival line and the horizon?
• What is the length of the maxillary central incisor?
• Is the CEJ palpable in the gingival sulcus?

The traditional dental diagnostic regimen has been one of several regional diagnoses rather than a “global” or inclusive one that determines where the teeth fit in the mouth and face and what techniques could combine to make that happen; hence, the facially generated diagnosis.

The authors have devoted chapters to explaining the analysis they use and then adding sections regarding methods that allow them to implement the Global Treatment Plan such as crown lengthening, tissue grafting, dentoalveolar intrusion and extrusion, forced eruption, orthognathic surgery, and even a chapter on dentofacial plastics via Botox^® and dermal fillers. The final sections concern sequencing the treatment plan, explaining the CORE Template, which has an attached CD that contains its forms and messages, and a final chapter of patient treatments.

Esthetically, the book displays features readers typically associate with Quintessence publications — e.g., succinct but clear narratives, thick durable pages, elegant colored photographs, and pleasing page layouts. The authors provide ample bibliographies to support their beliefs. Clearly, a more comprehensive text on dental esthetics does not exist. This book not only belongs in every dentist’s library, but also needs inclusion in every dental school’s curriculum.

Review by Larry White, DDS, MSD